Mail Fraud

By David Macaulay, dmacaulay@dailypress.com | 757-247-7838 | February 2, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS – A travel industry worker from Williamsburg has been sent to prison for mail fraud and filing a false tax return. Antoinette Reese, 46, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months imprisonment for mail fraud and 36 months imprisonment for filing a false tax return. She was also ordered to pay $829,687.00 in restitution, the United States Attorney's Office announced in a press release. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Reese was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

WILLIAMSBURG - There are few people more plain-spoken than Al Clark. The Ford's Colony resident and former Major League Baseball umpire will let you know when he is right. He's equally willing to admit when he's wrong. An ample supply of both fill the pages of his new book, "Called Out But Safe: A Baseball Umpire's Journey. " In the book, co-written with Dan Schlossberg, Clark takes the reader on an often hilarious journey through a career that spanned 26 years, 70 or so ejections (including his father, sportswriter Herb Clark)

By David Macaulay, dmacaulay@dailypress.com | 757-247-7838 | February 13, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS – A woman from Williamsburg has been sentenced to more than six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after admitting to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and transmitting a counterfeit money order. Trenita Ashlock, 56, was sentenced to 75 months in prison Monday in Newport News by United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Ashlock pled guilty Oct. 7, 2011. According to court documents, Ashlock took part in a scheme to distribute counterfeit postal money orders throughout the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

A jury began deliberations in the federal fraud trial of Jeffrey A. Martinovich Thursday, but did not reach a consensus by day's end. Jurors are considering 25 fraud counts. Most of the counts directly relate to an alleged scheme by Martinovich – the CEO of a now-defunct financial services company – to defraud clients who invested in a hedge fund he managed. "We've got a lot of counts to consider, and there's no need to rush people in any way," said Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar after the jury forewoman informed him late in the day that they would like more time to consider the case.

60-year-old Leslie M. Coffman pleaded to taking money from her employer NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Norfolk woman accused of taking more than $2.2 million from her employer has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride says 60-year-old Leslie M. Coffman entered her plea Tuesday in federal court in Norfolk. Coffman faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for June 1. According to court documents, Coffman handled administrative and bookkeeping duties for Ballard Fish & Oyster Co. in Norfolk.

A Locust Hill woman was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 15 months in prison for mail fraud in a scheme that netted her $1.2 million. Genevieve Coley, 53, operated a company called GAD Associates that sold industrial supplies to the federal government as a minority-owned business, according to the Department of Justice. Coley, who lives in a 1,440-square-foot home on 1.6 acres assessed at $122,000, would obtain supplies from a company called Blackmer, a pump manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

An investment banker who made off with more than $600,000 of his customers' deposits was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in a federal prison. Lawrence V. Howard, 38, of the 1100 block of Gatling Drive in Hampton, pleaded guilty in October to one count of mail fraud. He was the regional vice president of a Georgia-based company called First American National Securities and solicited people to invest with the firm. Fired by the securities company in 1987, Howard continued to use the title and acquire clients, but instead of investing the money in stocks, he placed it in bank accounts only he knew about, federal investigators said.

Tall, dapper and articulate, Lawrence V. Howard stood before the judge with his manicured hands by his side. In his well-tailored suit, the 38-year-old listened with an occasional nod or a `Yes, sir," as the judge explained what he was pleading guilty to: a mail fraud scheme in which he cheated more than a dozen Peninsula and Middle Peninsula residents out of their life savings from February 1983 through November 1988. Although Howard is accused of stealing more than $600,000, federal authorities charged him with only one count of mail fraud, which carries up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A guy I know isn't sure whether he is just plain lucky, is the victim of a practical joker or if his name and address have found their way onto a mail-order sucker list. He received a bill for $167.47 recently from an out-of-state mail-order company. It was for a 15-inch doll that, he says, he never ordered. I believe him because he is more of the athletic type, in his 50s and not the sort to collect dolls - porcelain or otherwise. A week later, the same guy received an Oriental decorative plate from another out-of-state company - along with a bill for $33.41.

The second of three men accused of racketeering schemes involving a wine company and a Norfolk restaurant pleaded guilty Friday in federal court. Baptista Pirrone, 59, of Virginia Beach pleaded guilty to bank fraud and mail fraud. A charge that he participated in a racketeering conspiracy by committing extortion will be dropped, a prosecutor said. Pirrone was indicted in August with brothers Salvatore and Pietro "Pete" Cottone in a complicated conspiracy that allegedly is tied with the Pizza Connection drug ring in Washington, D.C. The three were accused of a variety of crimes, from arson and threatening operators of a local restaurant to murder for hire.

NEWPORT NEWS — A second defendant was sentenced Wednesday in a Newport News-based broadcaster's scheme that swindled investors out of more than $750,000. Christopher C. Rice of Suffolk was sentenced in federal court to five years of probation and was ordered to forfeit $255,000 in assets for his role in helping Samuel B. Jacobs of Hampton run a sham company that misled investors, including area church pastors, according to court records. Jacobs was sentenced to 12 years in prison Feb. 21. Jacobs used money invested in Alliance Financial Services Corp.

The upcoming trial for Jeffrey Martinovich, the former CEO of the now-defunct investment firm MICG Investment Management LLC, centers on fraud accusations. But Martinovich's post-arrest spending habits have also come under a microscope. At a pre-trial hearing - in which the trial was pushed back from Tuesday to April 9 - U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar scolded Martinovich, who declared bankruptcy in February 2010, for being "equivocal and evasive" about his financial situation, according to court documents.

By David Macaulay, dmacaulay@dailypress.com | 757-247-7838 | February 13, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS – A woman from Williamsburg has been sentenced to more than six years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after admitting to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and transmitting a counterfeit money order. Trenita Ashlock, 56, was sentenced to 75 months in prison Monday in Newport News by United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Ashlock pled guilty Oct. 7, 2011. According to court documents, Ashlock took part in a scheme to distribute counterfeit postal money orders throughout the United States, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

By David Macaulay, dmacaulay@dailypress.com | 757-247-7838 | February 2, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS – A travel industry worker from Williamsburg has been sent to prison for mail fraud and filing a false tax return. Antoinette Reese, 46, was sentenced Thursday to 46 months imprisonment for mail fraud and 36 months imprisonment for filing a false tax return. She was also ordered to pay $829,687.00 in restitution, the United States Attorney's Office announced in a press release. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after Reese was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar.

HAMPTON — A Hampton woman admitted in federal court Thursday that she swindled $42,000 from a Virginia National Guard program geared for at-risk juveniles. Donna M. Barrett, 45, was business manager of the Commonwealth's Challenge Program, a live-in "boot camp" for youth at Camp Pendleton in Virginia Beach, jointly funded by the state of Virginia and the Department of Defense. In her role, Barrett maintained the program's financial affairs. Court documents she signed as part of her guilty plea said she stole the money between July 2006 and December 2009.

60-year-old Leslie M. Coffman pleaded to taking money from her employer NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A Norfolk woman accused of taking more than $2.2 million from her employer has pleaded guilty to mail fraud. U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride says 60-year-old Leslie M. Coffman entered her plea Tuesday in federal court in Norfolk. Coffman faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is set for June 1. According to court documents, Coffman handled administrative and bookkeeping duties for Ballard Fish & Oyster Co. in Norfolk.

A Peninsula businessman may go to prison this Christmas for running a credit-card promotion scam that investigators say bilked $23 million from more than a million low-income consumers. Rick J. Hartbrodt pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud Friday. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 20, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dopf. Hartbrodt, 53, of the 100 block of Pasbehegh Drive in James City, owns the Prince George Espresso and Roastery in Williamsburg and A Better Airfare in Newport News.

Eleven investors who lost $643,000 in an investment scam will get a fraction of their money back. Robert A. Shirey, who pleaded guilty to his part of the scheme in March, was ordered Tuesday to pay the investors 10 percent of the money he conned out of them, an average of $58,450 each, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan M. Salisbury. In addition, the federal court in Norfolk sentenced Shirey to 30 months in a federal penitentiary with no parole, Salisbury said. Shirey pleaded guilty to one felony count of mail fraud in return for testifying against his partner, Salomon S. Loayza of Hampton.

A Locust Hill woman was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court to 15 months in prison for mail fraud in a scheme that netted her $1.2 million. Genevieve Coley, 53, operated a company called GAD Associates that sold industrial supplies to the federal government as a minority-owned business, according to the Department of Justice. Coley, who lives in a 1,440-square-foot home on 1.6 acres assessed at $122,000, would obtain supplies from a company called Blackmer, a pump manufacturer based in Grand Rapids, Mich.

By DAVID MACAULAY, dmacaulay@dailypress.com 247-7838 | January 28, 2009

A husband and wife from Suffolk have been accused of embezzling more than $2 million over a five-year period while the woman worked part-time for a Virginia Beach developer. In a 73-count indictment, Karen A. Hiles, 47, and James G. Hiles, 59, have been charged with conspiracy, uttering, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Dana J. Boente, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed Monday.